The Haunted Bungalow
by BloodWings1992
Summary: A desperate attempt to make new friends backfired when Hermione Granger learns that there is more to this "haunted" home than meets the eye.


**A/N: This is for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition. I'm Chaser #3 of the Wimbourne Wasps and I was to write about an emotion that was chosen randomly.**

 **Emotion used: Scared (can't use this word)**

 **Prompts:  
#3: (word) burst  
#11: (restriction) no dialogue  
#13: (word) icicle**

 **The Haunted Bungalow**

Hermione stood in front of this supposedly haunted bungalow and wondered if she really needed friends this badly. Since first year she had always wanted to be a part of this group of girls called the _Snitchy Witches_. Now that she was in her third year at Hogwarts she had been formally asked by their leader to join them, but she had to pass their test. _Oh boy._ _  
_  
She shifted uncomfortably in her shoes as she stood in the Forbidden Forest, way past curfew. She didn't even know this house was out in the forest and she certainly had no idea it was haunted. Hermione was confused as to what made it haunted. Surely, it couldn't have just been ghosts since she has been used to them for years now. Although, not all ghosts were as friendly as those in the Hogwarts castle and considering how secluded this bungalow was she wouldn't have been surprised to run into those that were evil.

Just thinking about what could be in that bungalow sent shivers down her spine and caused her to be a little uneasy. She had to gather one item from the house and stay in it throughout the night. She wasn't allowed to use magic of any kind and she had to be completely and utterly alone. Well, except for whatever was currently staying in this place. She had to search for this quill laced with pearls in order to sign the _Snitchy Witches_ friendship agreement that she longed to sign.

The wind had started to pick up a little and made her skirt hit the back of her knees. The fog was beginning to thicken and she knew that she couldn't stay outside much longer or other creatures would find her before the one inside would ever get a chance. She decided that she would much rather deal with the one inside than a centaur. She pushed open the black gate that surrounded the bungalow. It wasn't doing a good job of keeping out other things considering the state of it. It was bent in several places and covered in ivy that seemed to be dying just by hugging the metal.

Hermione trudged up the broken brick walkway, careful not to trip or fall, and stopped when she took a look at the stairs. Whistles and groans could be heard throughout the place and Hermione had a burst of cold air file through her body, chilling her to the bone. She was sure that her hands felt like an icicle and debated on turning around. Friends wouldn't put other friends in dangerous situations, right? Well, she had to think about Harry and all the dangerous situations that she had been in since becoming his friend. The thought immediately left her mind and she took one step up the steps. Shivers erupted throughout her entire body at the sound of the very loud creak that seemed to echo in the forest. She looked around suddenly, feeling a pair of eyes watching her, and she couldn't shake the creepy feeling that dominated her. She took a deep breath and forced herself up the next six steps before stopping at the paint-chipped door.

It looked like a typical haunted house that she would have toured with her parents back home with the rags hanging off the clearly broken windows, the door that didn't seem to have a lock but shook whenever the wind caught it, and creaky stairs and planks that managed to hold the house together. She was very suspicious of this house. She realized she shouldn't be frightened of the house and that nothing looked as if it could live in here, but a sickening feeling in the bottom of her stomach told her different. She pushed the door open slightly and stared into the dark pits of the house that were lit by the full moon.

She walked in and with every creak in the floorboard a new fear would surge through her veins and her thought to turn around became stronger. She was on a mission to find this quill and then she could leave. It wasn't like they were standing around watching her stay in the bungalow.

To her dismay she heard faint footsteps emerge from the darkness within the house and the hairs stood up on her arms. She was within the presence of something and something dangerous. At least, that's how she felt. The only thing she could make out was a dark shadow that loomed in every corner but it moved quickly, slamming the door shut behind her. This caused the bungalow to rattle and it terrified Hermione to think that once she was in the house it would cave in, but she had to keep moving. She couldn't find her voice to call out to the stranger in the house and began her search.

Everywhere she looked she was met by cobwebs and rags with the shadow lurking around her every move. Terror built up in Hermione's heart to the point where she didn't think she could take it anymore. Her heart raced faster with every move she made and she was becoming more and more paranoid by the second. Her ears were ringing with the fear that had settled there. It was so loud that she couldn't think. A loud shriek echoed throughout the house and that did Hermione in.

She bolted from the house, her screams caught in her throat, and cussed about how the friendship with those psychotic girls wasn't worth it. All while she was running back towards the castle, quill-less, she couldn't hear the loud laughter of a certain platinum blonde haired boy who stood on the steps. He had been the one that these girls were terrified of in this rickety old bungalow and he had enjoyed every minute of it. Draco grinned at his accomplishment as he pulled the pearl lined quill out of his back pocket and twirled it gently in his hands. He set it back down inside the house and looked around at the marvelous décor that he had managed to provide. All he could think about on the way back towards the castle, with his hands in his pockets, was how priceless Hermione's face was when he had shrieked in her ear at the bungalow.

However, he had never noticed that an extra set of eyes watched him walk away with an evil smile glued to its face. It seems no one bothered to check upstairs for the supernatural being that haunted that bungalow. At least, no one that's lived to _talk_ about it.


End file.
